Diploma Translation for the USA

Word for word: interpreting gets you rejected

The American evaluator wants to place the Turkish diploma on its own scale itself. It is therefore a mistake for the translator to add a comment such as “equivalent to a US Bachelor’s degree” or “corresponds to a GPA of 3.2”; the agency does the evaluating, and the translation only gives the source text exactly as it is. Evaluation agencies usually expect a word-for-word translation rather than a summarised one, because they derive the degree and grade conversion from the raw data on the document. A translator who uses any wording of level or equivalence on the diploma undermines the basis of the report and forces the file to be prepared again.

Word for word covers the layout too

The word-for-word expectation requires preserving not only the words but the layout of the document. Evaluation agencies usually expect the translation to follow the arrangement of the original and to show where each seal, signature and heading sits. Blank fields are marked [blank], and in multi-page diplomas the page order is preserved. The date format is a small but important detail as well: because the day and month can change places in the USA, writing the month out by name in the translation (for example, a rendering that leaves the month spelled out rather than “15 Haziran 2020”) prevents the date of the diploma from being read wrongly.

The signed certificate of accuracy

Because there is no sworn translator regime in the USA, the only formal guarantee behind a diploma translation is the signed certificate of accuracy attached to it. This statement declares that the translation is complete and accurate, and carries the translator’s name and contact details, the date and the signature. A translation without such a statement counts as being of unclear origin, and the agency may turn the file away without opening it. Some banks and universities may also ask for the signature on the certificate of accuracy to be notarised; asking about this at the outset saves having to draw the statement up a second time.

The diploma and the evaluation report are two separate things

The translation has to be ready before the evaluation application, since the agency reads the document in English. But the translation does not take the place of the evaluation report: one shows what the document says, the other what that degree amounts to within the US system. Confusing the two means expecting a “recognition” from a translation, which a translation does not give. Recognition of the diploma is obtained from a separate body (WES, ECE), and the grade conversion is that body’s work as well. When an order is placed before this distinction is clear, the result is usually a translation of the wrong scope.

QR-coded e-diplomas and the form of the copy

Some Turkish universities issue the diploma not as a printed copy with a wet signature but as a QR-coded, electronically signed document via e-Devlet. With such a document the translation marks the presence of the QR code and the electronic verification wording with [QR code] and [e-signature verification] notes; no attempt is made to decode the contents of the code, and whatever the document says is what is reproduced. Evaluation agencies (WES, ECE) may take different views on whether they accept a QR-coded document; since many of them expect the document to come directly from the university, how the electronic copy is to be sent should be asked separately. Because the form required differs from one agency to another, preparing the electronic and the printed copy together is the safest course; the translation is based on the same text for both forms, but the authentication elements on the document itself are reflected separately in the translation.

If the diploma runs to several pages or has annexes, the page order is preserved and the translation is presented in the same arrangement as the source document; the word-for-word expectation covers this arrangement too. The verification link or reference code visible on a printout of an electronic document is also noted in the translation, since in the agency’s review it is the element showing that the document can be verified later.

The commonest errors

The first is forgetting the certificate of accuracy. The second is the translator adding a comment on the degree or the grades to the text of the diploma. The third is obtaining the apostille after the translation; the USA is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, and the apostille should be obtained first and translated together with its certificate – verify the current position from the HCCH’s official list. You can see the level of approval for other document types on our document types page, upload your document to request a quotation, and review the cost on our pricing page. The details may vary from case to case; check with the institution before applying.